Resolutions
by Raquelita
Summary: It's New Year's Eve seventh year, and James has something to prove to Lily, once and for all. But maybe Lily won't be as hard to convince as he thinks.  James/Lily fluff.


**A/N: Just a bit of New Year's Eve fluff…**

_Ten minutes to midnight_

"Having fun, Lils?" James Potter sat down casually next to Lily Evans on the couch of the Gryffindor common room.

All around them, the New Year's Eve party was in full swing. There were always enough students staying behind for the holidays to warrant a celebration, and this year was no exception. After a feast in the great hall, all of the students returned to their respective common rooms for a night of antics that sometimes – but not often – fell along the lines of school-approved activities. There was a table full of sweets from Honeydukes, and plenty of butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks. There were also a few bottles of firewhiskey being passed around, and no one was being shy about it. Sirius Black had planned the party, so it came as no surprise that not everything met with Hogwarts standards of behavior.

Lily eyed up the seventeen year old boy now sitting next to her, his hair perfectly tousled, a wide grin on his face. She hated the fact that her entire body had started humming the moment he got this close to her. It was an annoying habit that she couldn't seem to kick, and it was happening more and more frequently. It used to be that when he sat next to her in class she would just groan in frustration and spend the next hour trying to ignore him. But now … well, since the start of seventh year she had been fully aware of the growing attraction she felt for James Potter. It had started to matter to her whether or not he sat next to her in class, and she found herself in an unreasonably bad mood if he didn't. Not that she'd ever admit it. They had finally reached a friendly level, and Lily didn't intend to do anything that might ruin that. Especially not if her own feelings were starting to grow just as his were beginning to fade. He hadn't asked her out since the end of sixth year, and if Lily was being honest with herself, she desperately wished he would ask her again.

"It's a blast," she replied, smiling back at him and hoping her nervousness wasn't obvious, "You having a good time?"

"Of course. Nothing better than a party planned by Sirius."

"Well, and organized by Remus," Lily added with a laugh, pointing out Remus Lupin, who was frantically refilling punch bowls.

"We'd all be lost without him," James replied, catching Remus's eye and raising his glass in a toast. Remus gave him a frazzled smile.

"So," Lily said, finding herself desperately wanting to keep a conversation going, "Any resolutions for the coming year?"

"I'm glad you asked," James replied, "Just one. I don't want to start over-achieving or anything."

"Well, what is it?"

James gave her a smile that made Lily want to melt. Since when had he been able to do that to her? She didn't recall giving him permission.

He leaned in toward her, "Come with me and I'll show you," he whispered. Lily felt a shiver run down her spine at the feeling of his breath in her ear.

She nodded, taking the hand he offered and letting him lead her out the portrait hole. She passed by Alice, who was talking animatedly with Frank. Alice raised her eyebrows and gave Lily a teasing smile. 'Oh, shut up,' Lily mouthed to her, and disappeared into the corridor.

_Five minutes to midnight_

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going?" Lily asked, following James quietly along the hall.

"The astronomy tower," he replied simply.

"All right, so your resolution is to …. Get better at astronomy? Are you about to rope me into some sort of tutoring session?" Lily glared at him indignantly. It would be just like James to lead her somewhere suggestively, only to expose it all as a big joke. She shook herself mentally. She shouldn't be wanting James to lead her _anywhere _suggestively, joke or not. Wasn't this the boy she'd desperately avoided for her entire school career?

Well, she reasoned, yes and no. This was James Potter, leading her up the steps to the tower with one hand firmly in hers. But this was not the same James Potter who used to publicly confess his love to her in hallways and devise elaborate schemes to get her to go on a date with him. That boy might still be there in small ways, but Lily could tell that on the whole, James was growing up. And she was glad for it, but at the same time … she rather missed the hassle of his constant adoration. She hadn't realized it until the start of this year, but she'd grown quite fond of his antics and flirtations. She'd grown quite fond of everything about him, despite her best efforts. Especially now that he was beginning to prove that he really had matured.

Lily sighed. Didn't it just figure that as soon as she realized her feelings for James, he seemed to lose interest entirely.

James glanced down at his watch.

"We have to hurry," he said, practically dragging her up the last few steps.

Lily felt a rush of cold winter air as James opened the door to the astronomy tower. The sky was pinned above them with thousands of stars, and for a moment Lily could only stare at it.

"It's beautiful up here," she remarked breathlessly.

"It's perfect," James replied quietly.

The seriousness in his voice took Lily off-guard, and she turned to find him looking at her intently.

"So," she said, suddenly nervous, "What's your resolution?"

"Can you honestly not know?" James asked, taking a step closer to her, "Merlin, Lily, you're supposed to be the smartest witch in our class."

Lily gave him a small smile, feeling every nerve stand on end as James moved closer to her still.

_One minute to midnight_

He glanced down at his watch, "Perfect timing," he said.

"For what?"

"Lily…" James slid his hand softly along her cheek, "You're perfect to me. And you … this…" he waved at the scene around them, "this is my New Year's resolution. To kiss you here, at midnight, and prove to you once and for all that I love you, and you love me too. Even if you don't know it yet. No jokes, no public embarrassment, just us."

He paused for a few seconds, as if expecting her to slap him or turn and walk away. Lily knew he was giving her the option to do those things if she so chose. She was free to go.

James glanced at his watch again, "You have less than one minute to stop me, Lily."

Lily shook her head, looking into his hazel eyes, their flecks of gold shining in the moonlight.

"I'm not going to stop you," she whispered.

A smile lit up James's face, "I was hoping that's what you'd say." He took her face gently in his hands.

"Happy New Year, Lily Evans."

When their lips finally met, Lily felt her entire world change.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always wonderful. Have a safe and happy new year! **


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